Epson EcoTank L8160 all-in-one printer A4, 6 colours, Wi-Fi

Besides the regular black used for text, the L8160 has a separate photo black for glossy prints and a grey ink. The grey helps black-and-white images and shadows get smoother gradations and reduces the colour cast that comes from mixing colours. Blue, yellow and purple cover the rest of the gamut. EcoTank means the ink is not held in small cartridges but in the printer's ink tanks, which are refilled from bottles.

A resolution of up to 5760 × 1440 dpi is photo-printer territory: fine detail and smooth tones even on small prints. The same machine also prints ordinary documents, and duplex printing saves paper and keeps longer documents slimmer. Speed under the ISO/IEC 24734 standard is 16 images per minute in mono and 12 in colour; the standardised measurement makes the figure comparable with other printers.

The built-in colour scanner, with a resolution of up to 1200 × 4800 dpi, suits digitising old paper photos, archiving documents and sending signed contracts. Copying needs no computer: place the original on the scanner and the printer makes the copy itself. One machine thus replaces a printer, scanner and copier at home or in a small office, with fewer cables on the desk.

The printer has three paper trays, so plain paper and photo paper can stay loaded at the same time instead of being swapped for each job. The L8160 also prints straight onto printable CDs and DVDs: a family event, a wedding or a band recording becomes a disc with the artwork printed on the surface rather than on a sticker. The grey printer weighs 8.4 kg.

The printer joins a home or office network over Wi-Fi 5 or Ethernet, and connects to a computer by USB cable as well. Wi-Fi Direct lets a laptop or mobile device link to the printer directly without a router. The SD card slot and USB host port mean images can be read straight from a camera memory card or a USB stick, handy when you want a few photos on paper right after a trip.

Families and hobby photographers who print photos at home and want a scanner and copier in the same device; small and home offices that need both documents and presentation material; and anyone who makes CDs and DVDs and wants the artwork printed directly on the disc.